Happy Death Men

This past weekend, my wife and I took the kids to see a gallery exhibition of John Lennon’s artwork commemorating what would have been his 64th birthday (October 9) – it also doubled as a benefit for Adopt-a-Classroom as they took up a collection at the entrance (props to Yoko). The show was titled “When I’m 64” – even though McCartney penned the tune and these guys ended up despising each other. My six year-old son is a Beatles fanatic who favors John’s tunes more than Paul’s (it’s surreal to see him strum his guitar and sing along to “The Ballad of John and Yoko”), so this was a pretty meaningful trip for him. (Last year, we spotted Yoko Ono at an art opening at P.S. 1 – she had a piece in the show – and he was thrilled.) He especially liked the “Instant Karma” stickers featuring John’s self-portrait that they gave out at the door – one is now on his wall.

Yeah, it was cool to see John’s beautifully simple line drawings, and to make a connection with this man’s artistic legacy (though I gotta say that he was loads more talented as a songwriter/performer than as an artist). But as I watched the red dot stickers (meaning 'sold') go up on more and more of his pieces, or more appropriately, rock star memorabilia, I had the sinking feeling that we all were buzzards and hyenas tussling over the remaining bits of his bones. Oh well, happy birthday John, rest in peace. Your music still rocks.